Anime Recommendation and Suggestion Query

[Uchiha Barles]

Ok, I'm about ready to start looking into mystery anime and would appreciate your sagely suggestions on which I should watch. I plan on going through 4 series, preferably 13 to 26 episodes each. The requirements are that you found them to be excellent when compared to other anime of the genre, and that "mystery" be the overwhelming influence on the anime. Any subgenre asides from that will do. I actually only need 3 from you guys as I'm going to be watching Mushishi as one of the 4. Once again, thanks for your help, <3 you guys.

[Ryllharu]

The Daughter of Twenty Faces for sure. Great coming of age story, heavy focus on mystery, set in a slightly modified Post-War 1960s Japan (and a little bit abroad). 22 eps total. A rather underrated series.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and its sequel Kai. Can't get much better than this one, since it takes several "Question arcs" to even figure out what's going on. 50 episodes across the two.

Then probably Shiki (22 eps) or Monster (74 eps).

Yeah, most of them are horror. Japan doesn't do family-friendly mystery too well.

I will also throw in Mawaru Penguindrum, but that series is honestly more of a mystery for the viewer than for the characters in it. An excellent series nevertheless.

Gosick and Shigofumi are good as well, but not as much as the first four I suggested.

[shinta|hikari]

Higurashi is definitely the series to watch, even if it takes up 2 slots due to the high episode count.

I will also throw in the underrated Dennou Coil and Noein. Since revealing why they are a mystery inevitably reduces that aspect, I will refrain from explaining too much.

Steins;Gate is also really good. The last 3 I recommended are pretty much sci-fi mystery, so it is worth looking into if you like that.

[Munsu]

Having a tough time recalling mystery animes, but here are some that may fit that I enjoyed:

Monster
Tsukihime
Boogiepop Phatom
Witch Hunter Robin
Shiki
Ergo Proxy
Mermaid Forest
Ghost Hunt
Ghost in the Shell
Project ARMS
Kurau Phatom Memory
Paranoia Agent
Kaze no Youjinbou
Red Garden
Licensed by Royal
The Daughter of Twenty Faces
Allison & Lillia
Darker than Black
Juuousei
Wolf's Rain

[Uchiha Barles]

Alright, Higurashi and Daughter of the twenty faces are on the list with Mushi-shi. Noein is on my list of specific anime to watch anyway, so I might as well add that. I've seen Shiki and Monster which are both on my all-times favorites list, but for some reason I didn't think they were the mystery genre (foolishly so). Now I'm excited to see these things. I've also seen some of Witch Hunter Robin, Wolf's Rain and Ergo Proxy but never got to finish them. I'd totally forgotten about those too so assuming I'm not sick of mystery anime by the time I'm done, I'll watch those as well.

[Inazuma]

Thank you all for your awesome suggestions and thank you Ryll for this :

Katanagatari, but that's not really a noir style. Every other part is covered though.

I would love more.

I return today with a request :

I loved Detroit Metal City and Moyashimon.

If there is something you know along those lines, HIT ME UP.

[MFauli]

Any fun, yet complex anime out there?

Just got done watching the latest episode of Robotics;Notes, but while it´s good enough to have me keep watching, it´s just not captivating enough. Meaning, I´m not hyped for a new episode when I just finished one.
Shin Sekai Yori would almost fall in into my "fun, yet complex" category, but it fell into the Tales of-trap (too many bullshit phrases being thrown around. Is a huge turn off).

If I had to name examples for shows that manage the "fun, yet complex" part I´m looking for, I´d say:

- Bokurano
- Fantastic Children
- Now and Then, Here and There
- (maybe) Hunter X Hunter, thought its typical shounen-structure keeps it from reaching the above shows´ heights
- Haibane Renmei
- Death Note

negative examples would be:

- Durararara (overly complex)
- Jojo´s Bizarre Adventure (super fun, but too shallow)
- (an older one) Ghost in the Shel (complex, yes, fun, no)

No idea if there´s anything left like what I want here that I haven´t watched already. But asking is free, so whatevs. :3

[Buffalobiian]

Higurashi is my favourite one if you're after complex/fun (it starts off more towards complex, then as the complexity starts resolving it snowballs the fun/engagement). Watch at LEAST the first two seasons. Don't stop after the first one, but don't skip it either.

If Robotic;Notes isn't as well done as Steins;Gate IMO. Check that one out a bit. It mixes the fun and complex bits together in a better way, while they feel more like entirely separate plot-lines in Robotic;Notes.

[shinta|hikari]

How about Baccano?

[MFauli]

The first episode of Baccano hurt my brains, so no :P
Already watched Higurashi, god I hated those bitches.

Steins;Gate was on my to-watch-list, so maybe I´ll give it a try. thx

[Dark Dragon]

I'm having a difficult time trying to determine what is too complex or shallow for you, but here are a few recommendations.

Monsters - One of the best anime ever created. The story is fairly complex and the villians are wonderful. It also manages to be long without dragging or overly relying on cliches like Death Note.

If you do start watching monster or have already, it would be great to get your opinion on the series because you're in Germany. I always thought the series portrayal is excellent, but I've only been to Germany once and that was a long time ago.

Noein - Another amazing series that everyone should watch. I thought the story managed to be complex while still being fairly understandable, but i also thought Baccano was straight forward, so your mileage might vary with this one. It must be mentioned that this is Sci-fi with time travel, so approach with caution.

Here's a few more excellent series that i won't go into too much detail because it'll take too long, but you can look up their wiki pages if you're interested.

Bokurano
Toward the Tera
Armed Librarians
Requiem for the Phantom
Cassherns Sins
Guin Saga
Last Exile
All of the Natsume Yuujinchou

If you still can't find something to watch from that list. PM me with more specific criteria and maybe i can help.

[enkoujin]

I need to catch up on a lot of anime this summer. I haven't been watching much anime in the last three years, so I would like suggestions on the must-watch anime. Preferably those that have outclassed its manga counterparts or anime with original screenplays, non-horror and non-gore.

Thanks in advance!

[Dark Dragon]

I'm going to take your words literally and pick anime from 2010 and up.
I am not going to list sequels or any shows i didn't enjoy.


Giant Killing - Sport: this is great overall and the depiction is rather realistic.
Rainbow - Drama/Tragedy: Pretty heavy on the drama and gets quite bleak. The gore is very minor, so i don't think you'll mind too much.
Angel Beat - Drama/Tragedy: Not as good as the older key works, but i still think this is one of their better effort and the soundtrack is good.
Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama - Shoujou/Comedy: I am biased toward anime adaptation of manga, but i think this is one of the better ones. The story isn't done, but you'll probably enjoy it.
Legend of the Legendary Heroes - Fantasy/Adventure: Stupid title, great content. One of the few shows where i prefer to watch the anime over reading the original source material.
Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin - Supernatural/Comedy: This show is solid, it does well at pretty much everything. It's not something that'll make you go "WOW", but you can sit down and enjoy it.
Asobi no Iku Yo! - Harem/Comedy: The formula is pretty generic, meet strange girl who meet criteria X and then a bunch more afterward. This show does not take itself seriously at all though and you'll probably laugh at the ridiculousness on more than once occasion.
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - Comedy/???: Just watch this, you'll laugh. It's ridiculous in every sense of the word and the show does it from start to finish.
Bakuman - Drama: Author of death note story about becoming a mangaka. The show is enjoyable and many of the characters are great.
Shinryaku! Ika Musume - Comedy: Pretty much a lot of the things i said about Panty/Stocking with the ridiculousness toned down and featuring a squid girl.
Beelzebub - Action/Comedy: Solid mix of the two and will probably be a bit surprising if you go in expecting all the typical shounen stuff. Main character is great and a solid supporting cast.
Level E - Comedy: This show is original, funny and created by Togashi. What's there not to like?
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? - Comedy: Another show that follow the ridiculous formula, but it's not as good as the other show i've listed. It also relies a little bit too much on cringe humor, so it might not be funny to people who hates that.

This post is getting a bit too long, so i'll end it here. I'll need to go through my anime HD and see what else i can reccommend.

Edit1: Additional Recommendations

Dog Days - Comedy/Action: You'll like this if you don't take anime too seriously. It's pretty mindless and cliche, but the show is fun and has a lot of energy. Feels like a Saturday morning cartoon.
TIGER & BUNNY - Action: Great tribute to the tokusatsu genre and is a solid series overall.
Toriko - Comedy/Shounen: Gourmet hunters from HxH meets Fist of the North Star art style and the entire thing is about food.
Hanasaku Iroha - Drama: Well done story and very likable characters. It's a bit slice-of-life and slower than your typical drama, but the formula works.
Showa Monogatari - Slice of Life: One of the better slice of life series i've watched. It's very genuine and the series develop the entire cast. It's a rare anime in this day and age.
Steins;Gate - Sci-fi: My favorite of the ; series of anime. It has good plot and without all the stupidity from Chaos;Head. I also like the style they chose for the animation, gave the show a good feel.
Ano Hana - Drama: This show manage to captures emotion really well, it works on the same level as show like Clannad and Kanon. The story is just long enough to wrap up everything without the need to drag on endlessly.
High School DxD - Harem/Action: The plot is very typical for a harem. What makes this show works is the main character enthusiasm. The action scene are well done and the story has a lot more potential than your average harem. It share many good traits with classic shows like Tenchi Muyo.
Mouretsu Pirates - Space Opera: Girl inherit a space pirate ship. If you've ever watched classic space operas like crest/banner of the star and Legend of the Galatic hereoes, you'll know what to expect. It's not your typical space opera either, this shows tries to do a lot with the story and most of it works out surprisingly well.
Rinne no Lagrange - Mecha/Action: Giant robot and pro wresting moves. Why are you still reading this? Go watch it. It's not all mech action either, there's a lot of character development and plot crammed into the two seasons. Seriously, go watch it!
Ano Natsu de Matteru - Romance: Spiritual successor to Onegai Teacher and Onegai Twin. The romance actually has direction and the characters are rather likable. It's one of the better romance series in recent years.
Daily Lives of High School Boys - Comedy/Slice of life: Guys will probably like this show more, since it pretty much captures all the stupid shit everyone tends to do back during their teenage years.
Uchuu Kyoudai - Drama: Plot, character development and good voice acting. Seinen doesn't get enough love anymore and this show is one of the better series around. It does drag a bit at certain point, but not enough to stop watching.
Accel World - Action/Sci-fi: Great story progression, pretty interesting concept revolving around an online game. The action scenes are well animated and the art direction is wonderful.

[MFauli]

Question: I´ve only seen Fate Stay Night. Seems like there are a lot of weirdly named newer seasons or sequels or whatever. So, which one would come next after that first season I saw a few years back? thx

[KrayZ33]

next - none
prequel - fate/zero - which is alot better than /stay night imho

the movie is horrible

[Buffalobiian]

Question: I´ve only seen Fate Stay Night. Seems like there are a lot of weirdly named newer seasons or sequels or whatever. So, which one would come next after that first season I saw a few years back? thx

the movie is horrible

The movie (Unlimited Blade Works) is an alternate telling of Fate/Stay Night. It plays out the events that would have happened had Shirou (the main male) focused on Tohsaka Rin instead of Saber. The movie doesn't touch into the story and is essentially a bunch of well-animated segments of the game.

If you don't understand it nor enjoyed it, that's alright. It sucks as a standalone movie if you hadn't played the game.

The new Fate anime airing this season is a spinoff that doesn't have terribly much connection with the others. If anything, it's a sequel in an alternate universe.

[MFauli]

feel like i have asked this before, but anyway:

are there any harem/romance anime, where the main character actually has sex with at least 2 different girls? No hentai wanted, though. School Days cant be the only one, can it? I´d prefer something rather quality, so no wacky, cheap "bang em all"-crap. Simply some more twisted, complex romance with a non-gay main character.

[Ryllharu]

Harem? No.

There are few very non-hentai series where the protagonist even has sex with one girl/woman before the end of the series.

Also, School Days is a hentai (game), in case you didn't know. It has rather graphic sex sequences too by the way (see the "Happy Threesome Ending").

[shinta|hikari]

@Mfauli - If you just want the cheating (since School Days anime did not have fully shown sex scenes anyway), White Album is there. It is a romance/drama show where the main character has sex with at least one of the characters, and makes out with some of the rest.

[KrayZ33]

Just went through all Girls und Panzer episodes and this show blew my mind.
so much fun, great animation, action, nice humor
what a suprise, at first I was "wtfuck japan?" but then ?! must watch in my book for everyone who likes tanks in general or stuff like World of Tanks!



that moment was so charming, great wartime song:
spoiler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epclAbW1APk

/spoiler